Eduard Padberg, correspondent of Dutch daily newspaper Trouw, yesterday during the demonstrations in Cairo was abused by ten uniformed policemen. He was beaten up with clubs, although they knew he was a journalist from the Netherlands.

The newspaper says this was a targeted abuse, because Padberg was alone when he was ill-treated and was not near protesters.

Objections

The editors of Trouware objecting strongly to this action and are asking Egypt to ensure the safety of journalists.

Padberg was injured, but did not have to be transported to a hospital.

CAIRO — Egyptian police arrested an Associated Press Television News cameraman and his assistant early Wednesday while they were filming clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo. An AP photographer was beaten by a policeman and injured while shooting demonstrations.

APTN’s Haridi Hussein Haridi, 54, and his assistant Haitham Badry, 23, were taken into custody during the biggest anti-government protests Egypt has seen in years. Haridi telephoned the AP news bureau to say the two had been pushed into a police van and were being driven to an unknown location before his mobile phone was disconnected.

Nearly 18 hours later, Haridi telephoned a colleague to say he and Badry were in police custody. He said they had not been mistreated but would not be released soon. He said he did not know why they were still being held.

Both were detained although they are accredited and were carrying press documents issued by Egyptian authorities.

Separately, AP photographer Nasser Gamil Nasser, 43, had his right cheekbone broken and will need surgery to repair the fractures. He said a policeman charged him while he was shooting protests late Tuesday and hurled a stone at his face. His camera was smashed.

Abdel Mohsen Salama, deputy of the head of the journalist’s association, said eight journalists have been detained in the protests.

“The AP complies with the laws of every country in which it gathers news and expects its staff to be treated with professional respect. We call on the Egyptian authorities to uphold the right of journalists to report without fear of detention or violence and to immediately release the detained AP television crew” said AP Vice President Sandy MacIntyre, director of AP television’s international news operations.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians, inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, turned out Tuesday in several cities in an outburst of political discontent with President Hosni Mubarak’s rule, widespread poverty and unemployment.

In Cairo, the protest culminated around 1 a.m. Wednesday, when a large police force fired tear gas and beat protesters to clear the central Tahrir Square, where Haridi and Badry were filming.

The force moved in arresting people, chasing others into side-streets and filling the square with clouds of tear gas.

A senior Middle East cameraman, Haridi has worked for APTN since 1997, covering major news events in the region. His work often took him outside his native Egypt to locations such as Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Sudan.